"Hey, hey, what exactly is going on here? I just got off the plane, just got to my front door. No, wait—I didn't even step inside before you people dragged me over here. Even if you have something urgent, at least let me rest for a moment!" Shido Itsuka glared at everyone in Ratatoskr, completely annoyed. Just moments ago, he'd finally come home, set down his luggage, pulled out his keys, and hadn't even unlocked his door before being teleported here. How could he possibly be happy about that? Being unable to go home at all was enough to piss anyone off.
"Aren't these the same people as before? Wait—there's someone new. Isn't that the famous idol Miku Izayoi? How is she there? Kotori, I don't know how Tohka knows her, but do you really need to worry so much?" Looking at the people displayed on the screen, Shido asked, sounding bored. After all, Tohka hanging out with the other two wasn't surprising, and even if she knew Miku, well—these days, anyone could meet a celebrity online. Though he was a little curious how Tohka met Miku, he didn't think much of it.
"That's not the issue at all, you idiot. We're not here to care about 'celebrities.' Miku Izayoi is not just an idol, okay?" Kotori, who'd just returned, pressed her fingers to her temples, clearly exasperated with her brother. Seriously, couldn't he think for a second? If they'd called him over, obviously it had to do with Spirits. Otherwise, who cared if Tohka knew Miku or the U.S. president?
She quickly tapped a few keys on the console in front of her, and a picture frame window popped up before Shido.
"This is..." Staring at the image, Shido froze. The picture was of no one other than Miku herself—but the text below was what caught his attention.
"Codename: Diva."
"She's a Spirit? How could that be?!" He looked up in disbelief, unable to comprehend that such a public figure could secretly be a Spirit.
"That's right, she's a Spirit. Apart from one detection about half a year ago, she's never been scanned since. Not because she disappeared—she just never used her Spirit powers again. So, her ability data has always been zero. Honestly, if she hadn't shown up this close, I wouldn't have believed she was really one of them." Kotori nodded, confirming everything. Even she had been shocked the first time she learned this.
"Three—no, four Spirits this time. And three of them are unsealed. Are they planning to demolish the entire city?" Shido's focus shifted in a rather unhelpful direction. Spirits' destructive power was terrifying enough. And here, three were fully unsealed—and even the one supposedly 'sealed' Tohka had proven that meant nothing. She could regain her powers anytime she liked. So, in other words, there were four Spirits down there. If they started fighting, they could level Tengu City—or worse, uproot it entirely.
"You're missing the point, as usual—but you've finally noticed something important." Kotori sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She tapped at her console again, and two more picture frames appeared in front of Shido.
"This—this...how is this possible?" His jaw dropped. He knew both of the people displayed—one was Tohka, the other Miku. But that wasn't what left him speechless. It was the bar chart beneath each picture—the affection meter. Both Tohka and Miku's gauges were maxed out. And he knew all too well what that implied.
"This can't be. How could they know each other?" Shido's voice trembled. Sure, Miku had once been human—that part wasn't so strange. But Tohka had only appeared in recent months. By all logic, there was no way they should have met, let alone have such high affection for each other.
"That's right—their affection is maxed. We've already investigated. They shouldn't even have met before, let alone be this close." Kotori chewed on her lollipop, her expression serious. Honestly, this was unheard of. Everyone on the ship—including Reine—had been completely baffled.
Other people might not understand, but Kotori knew very well. She herself had personally given Miku the Spirit core that transformed her. Back then, Miku had been totally alone—not a single friend in the world. After receiving the core, her life had skyrocketed. That hadn't surprised Kotori—she knew exactly what Miku's powers were capable of. But logically, there was no way she should know Tohka.
"Looks like that girl has plenty of secrets...and as for your plan, I'm getting more and more curious. Don't disappoint me." Murmuring to herself as she watched the cheerful group on the screen, Reine squinted thoughtfully and said no more.
"So, what do we do? There's no way to even approach them. You know what max affection means." Shido swallowed. He knew perfectly well. With feelings like that, there was no strategy left—no 'conquering' possible. At least for him—he wasn't going down there. Nothing good could come of it, and it would probably endanger his life.
"I know. For now, we'll just observe. Forget it—just go home and rest." Kotori sighed, massaging her temples again. She'd never imagined it would turn out like this. For now, all she could do was watch how things developed.
"Should we eat here? It's a buffet." Meanwhile, far below, Tohka and the others had no idea any of this was happening. They were walking along the street, chatting amicably. Other than that earlier moment of tension, everyone was getting along surprisingly well. None of them were the jealous type—otherwise, in the original story, Shido would have been six feet under already. But just then, Miku spotted a buffet restaurant. Without waiting for Tohka's opinion, she started pulling her inside.
"Maybe...we should pick another place. Let's not go here." Pulled along, Tohka finally saw which restaurant it was and hesitated. She had a hunch Ratatoskr wasn't going to cover her bill this time—or else they wouldn't be ignoring her. And as for the owner...
Sure enough, at that moment the owner himself waddled out, stomach protruding triumphantly. He spotted Tohka being dragged toward the entrance and...
"Waaah!" He let out a shriek like a pig about to be slaughtered, collapsed onto his backside, and then—ignoring everyone's shocked stares—scrambled back inside. A moment later, the entire restaurant began closing up at lightning speed. And then...nothing. Because he abruptly remembered that this was the one customer he couldn't afford to provoke. If she got annoyed, he'd be ruined. He even tore down the sign that had once banned her entry.
Honestly, he'd vowed never to serve her again. Even if he were willing, his chefs couldn't take it. Last time, she'd eaten them all to exhaustion, and he'd had to hand out bonus pay. Sure, he hadn't lost money outright, but he'd forfeited an entire day's revenue.
"Ugh, let's just leave." Seeing the owner's expression—like a man watching his own funeral—Tohka lost her appetite. No way was she going to eat there again if it meant being stared at like a monster the whole time.
"Alright, let's find somewhere else." Surprisingly, neither Miku nor the Yamai sisters objected. The restaurant owner's face had been...well, unsettling, to say the least.
"Phew, they're gone." Watching the group walk away, the owner finally exhaled in relief. He never wanted to deal with that nightmare again—especially not when the risk of losing an entire month's profits was so high.
"So, what did you do to him to make him act like that?" As they walked farther away, Miku couldn't resist asking, curiosity plain on her face. They all knew who the man had been afraid of—Tohka. But they were dying to know why.
"Uh, well, how should I put this..." Tohka scratched her head, momentarily at a loss. She decided it was probably best not to mention that little incident with Kurumi—otherwise these three would skin her alive.
"Well...you see...it's like this, and this, and this..." After thinking for a moment, she started to explain what had happened. She conveniently 'forgot' about Kurumi. By the time she finished, everyone—including Tohka herself—was laughing. Honestly, it was pretty impressive to terrify a buffet owner that thoroughly.
"Alright, let's find a quieter place to talk." Glancing around the busy street, Tohka remembered what she'd planned. Now that everyone was together, it was time to share her information. But the street was too public. She grabbed them all and led them to a quieter shop.
"One private room, please—enough for four people." She told the host as soon as they walked in, then guided the puzzled group into a small room.
"Darling, why did you suddenly bring us here?" After the waiter left, Miku looked curiously at Tohka. A moment ago, everything had seemed normal—now she was acting all mysterious.
"It's like this—do you know about DEM? You know, the company that makes all the realizers." Tohka glanced around, making sure no one could overhear.
"Those realizers...they're such a nuisance. Are you saying DEM supplies them? Why, what are you planning?" Miku didn't seem particularly concerned, but the Yamai sisters instantly looked disgusted. Clearly, they'd clashed with DEM plenty of times.
"DEM's a giant...that's a huge corporation. Around here, they're as influential as Ratatoskr." Compared to the others, Izayoi was the only one who looked truly serious. She knew exactly how terrifying DEM could be. If this were back in their original world, Tohka might be able to confront them head-on—but here, it wasn't that simple.
"I know what you're worried about. But from what I've learned, those people are holding a Spirit captive—someone like us." Tohka didn't hesitate, meeting their eyes one by one. She knew this revelation was explosive.
"What?!" The shock on their faces was immediate. None of them had expected this. But when they thought about it, they realized it made sense—DEM's rapid progress in realizer technology had always been suspicious.
"And as far as I know, they're experimenting on her...like she's nothing but a lab animal..."
"How dare they—those bastards!" Miku slammed her palm onto the table, eyes blazing with rage. The Yamai sisters looked just as furious. All of them understood exactly what that meant—and none of them could forgive it.